Apparently, siore got burned with that experience causing him to distrust monitors.
@siore - It seems to me that the guy who did your last recording didn't know his monitoring environment quite well. For one thing, one must always "tune" his ears to his own monitors. That's why I said the operative word is 'trust'. Most engineers often have a reference cd on hand in the same genre they are mixing; this gives them an idea on what to listen to. Judging from the boomy sound you say that resulted, I could almost certainly say that the engineer had no point of reference with his monitor system.
Secondly, one should always reference a mix across different systems. I myself would audition a mix through headphones, monitors, computer speakers, a boom box, car stereo... even my x-mini speaker. If I find that a mix translates well across those systems, that's when I feel I can write off on that mix.
It's true that the distribution media of choice is mp3 and most ipod and mp3 players don't have hifi specs. It's also true that your mix should play back well in those systems. But you cannot release a mix that is good for only one system. You need a mix that is good for all, regardless of the playback mechanism. Chances are that if you have a full bandwidth mix that plays well in hifi systems, it will translate well to mp3, but not the other way around - that's just the nature of the mp3 beast.
Burned? More like incinerated!
With mp3's, we get to distribute faster. But I totally understand that it wouldn't automatically sound good on hifi systems.
Hey guys, I'm not saying I distrust monitors completely. I'm saying I don't like it when someone goes blindly with monitors, and our music only sounds good on them. Thanks sir for clearing it up, not just for me but for everyone building their own studios.
Trust your monitors. Reference a mix across different systems. Got it.
Basically, what siore is missing here is the objective of the recording process. You see, the reason you record is for you to capture the actual performance as heard through an acoustic space. Monitor speakers provide that; headphones do not. When you (as you said) turn your head to the left when you listen to a band performing live, does the band turn itself with your head?
Great point on
the objective! Thanks sir mikep, I've been looking for someone to point that out. I'll be sure to keep that in mind.
point ko lang, mag-play safe ka. aling market ba ang gusto mo i-cater, lahat ng taong may potential na maka-apreciate ng music mo, o mga headphone users lang?
The majority should.
Well, I just sparked this up, coz we've been in situations like these for a countless numbers of times. Ever heard of, "ako, ayoko mag-headphones, mas ok talaga yung XXXX monitors ko... dahil... (insert BS here)... "
Or, "ayoko mag-mix nang full volume, mas
fine-tuned tenga ko pag mahina yung sawndz..."
Chalk it up to experience, I guess..